Doreen looked at her calendar for the day. It was Thursday, and the report she had...

 

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Doreen looked at her calendar for the day. It was Thursday, and the report she had been working on was due tomorrow. This means the team would have to meet today to finish its recommendations and presentation. The team had been formed to design a programme to introduce the Company's new product to the market. Since the Company has not marketed the product before, it was not quite sure of the outcome. Doreen and her team were charged with producing recommendations for advertising and promotion, product distribution and anything else they thought important. After the plan is approved, implementation would probably fall to Doreen. It was a large undertaking, and Doreen and four other managers had given it most of their time for the last few months. Right from the start, the team had not worked well together. This was not a surprise to Doreen; the other team members have strong personalities and she knew at the onset that there would be some personality conflicts as a result. All four group members were on the same level in the company and no one had been designated the leader. Therefore, the early meetings were mostly a struggle for leadership. Doreen realized very early that Ben had a deep-seated belief that women had no place in business and certainly were not capable of leading men. Ben clearly thought he was the only one capable of leading the team due to his long stay with the Company. The other two, Victor and Bright who had been in the Company not too long were indifferent to who should be their team leader. Doreen was quite frustrated at both the team's slow progress and the tense atmosphere that prevailed at their meetings. They were nowhere near finish with their plan, but they would have to present their recommendations tomorrow morning. She knew that senior management was expecting a full report, and she was not confident that she could deliver one. How would the team members manage to work together well enough at today's meeting to agree on a set of recommendations? The atmosphere at the previous meeting had been so poor that Doreen wondered what would happen when the stress of a deadline was added. She wondered if she could control the show of tempers that usually marked their gatherings, the last of which had dissolved into a shouting match between herself and Ben when she had tried, as tactfully as possible, to suggest that one of his ideas for a promotional campaign was impractical. Ben quickly dropped the discussion and moved to a more personal level, accusing her of undermining his authority by trying to imply that she, a mere woman, knew more than he did. She sighed. It was going to be a very long day. How should she act towards Ben? What could she do to keep things on track in preparation for tomorrow's presentation? All she really wanted to do was tell her boss she was sick and go home. Questions: 1. a. Is Doreen working with a group or a team? Explain. (2 marks) b. Group formation goes through five phases. Outline these stages and indicate (12 marks) the stage Doreen and her team/group find themselves c. Explain the following group concepts in relation to the above case i. Role identity ii. Role perception iii. Role expectation iv. Role conflict (8 marks) d. Discuss four (4) ways of improving cohesiveness in a group/team to ensure successful completion of task (8 marks) Doreen looked at her calendar for the day. It was Thursday, and the report she had been working on was due tomorrow. This means the team would have to meet today to finish its recommendations and presentation. The team had been formed to design a programme to introduce the Company's new product to the market. Since the Company has not marketed the product before, it was not quite sure of the outcome. Doreen and her team were charged with producing recommendations for advertising and promotion, product distribution and anything else they thought important. After the plan is approved, implementation would probably fall to Doreen. It was a large undertaking, and Doreen and four other managers had given it most of their time for the last few months. Right from the start, the team had not worked well together. This was not a surprise to Doreen; the other team members have strong personalities and she knew at the onset that there would be some personality conflicts as a result. All four group members were on the same level in the company and no one had been designated the leader. Therefore, the early meetings were mostly a struggle for leadership. Doreen realized very early that Ben had a deep-seated belief that women had no place in business and certainly were not capable of leading men. Ben clearly thought he was the only one capable of leading the team due to his long stay with the Company. The other two, Victor and Bright who had been in the Company not too long were indifferent to who should be their team leader. Doreen was quite frustrated at both the team's slow progress and the tense atmosphere that prevailed at their meetings. They were nowhere near finish with their plan, but they would have to present their recommendations tomorrow morning. She knew that senior management was expecting a full report, and she was not confident that she could deliver one. How would the team members manage to work together well enough at today's meeting to agree on a set of recommendations? The atmosphere at the previous meeting had been so poor that Doreen wondered what would happen when the stress of a deadline was added. She wondered if she could control the show of tempers that usually marked their gatherings, the last of which had dissolved into a shouting match between herself and Ben when she had tried, as tactfully as possible, to suggest that one of his ideas for a promotional campaign was impractical. Ben quickly dropped the discussion and moved to a more personal level, accusing her of undermining his authority by trying to imply that she, a mere woman, knew more than he did. She sighed. It was going to be a very long day. How should she act towards Ben? What could she do to keep things on track in preparation for tomorrow's presentation? All she really wanted to do was tell her boss she was sick and go home. Questions: 1. a. Is Doreen working with a group or a team? Explain. (2 marks) b. Group formation goes through five phases. Outline these stages and indicate (12 marks) the stage Doreen and her team/group find themselves c. Explain the following group concepts in relation to the above case i. Role identity ii. Role perception iii. Role expectation iv. Role conflict (8 marks) d. Discuss four (4) ways of improving cohesiveness in a group/team to ensure successful completion of task (8 marks)

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1 a Is Doreen working with a group or a team Explain 2 marks Doreen is working with a group A group is characterized by individuals who come together for a common purpose or objective but may not nece... View the full answer